Joomla Tutorials

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OSTips-Can You Manage Your Joomla Site On An iPad?

OSTips-Can You Manage Your Joomla Site On An iPad?

It's April 14, 2010. I'm on a motorcycle on my way from where I live, outside of Cincinnati, to a town called Sussex, New Brunswick up in Canada to teach at a university for the week. I'm in a massive traffic jam just south of Portland, when I get a call from a client in San Jose who's asking, “There's something wrong with this joomla website. Can you help?” Well of course! So, I pulled out my Macbook Pro, tethered it to my iPhone 3, and in about 20 minutes, his problem was fixed. So the question for today is: Has anything about that scenario changed?

Thanks for joining me today, and of course the answer is YES! A ton has changed.

Keep reading to learn!

OSTips - Place Modules in Joomla with Advanced Module Manager

OSTips - Place Modules in Joomla with Advanced Module Manager

One of the things you expect from a modern content management system is a lot of flexibility. Well, Joomla doesn't really give you a lot when it comes to placing modules around your website. Modules are the little bits of information you place around your main content area like menus, sidebars, and footers.

In this video, I'm going to show you an amazing module manager that will transform how you place modules around the outside of your content in your Joomla website using Advanced Module Manager.

I've used this extension for years, and it is terrific. So let's go!

OSTips -Add Code to Articles and Modules in Joomla

OSTips -Add Code to Articles and Modules in Joomla

It's one thing to carve the date in stone when you're beautifying a town in rural Indiana, but it's another thing if the footer of your Joomla website still says 2015. Well this is a problem we can easily solve.

In this video, I want to talk to you about a fantastic plugin from Regular Labs called Sourcerer. Sourcerer allows you to add code to Articles and Modules in Joomla including: PHP, CSS, and HTML.

I've used this consistently for the last 10 years, and it is a terrific plugin, so let's go!

OSTips-Create a Fabrik Map Visualization in Joomla

OSTips-Create a Fabrik Map Visualization in Joomla

Are you using Fabrik with Joomla? Are you familiar with the Fabrik Map Visualization?

Ok, Let's say you have a whole list of people/things or a membership list and there are addresses from those lists that you want to illustrate on a map. How can we do that?

It's super easy with a Fabrik Visualization, and I'm going to show you how.

Let’s go!

To HTTP or to HTTPS your Joomla Site

To HTTP or to HTTPS your Joomla Site

To HTTP or to HTTPS your Joomla Site? There is no longer any debate on this age-old question, the evidence out there definitely says you should use HTTPS on all your websites, Joomla or otherwise, even if they don’t handle sensitive communications. Not only has HTTPS become a requirement for many of the new web browsers and progressive web apps, it provides security and data integrity for both your Joomla website and your users' personal information.

OSTips - Search and Replace in any Joomla Database Table

OSTips - Search and Replace in any Joomla Database Table

Replacing the content on one article or even two articles on your Joomla website is pretty simple, but what if you have to replace the plugin code on over a thousand articles in your Joomla site? How would you do it?

In this video, I'm going to show you how I replaced the plug-in code in over a thousand Joomla articles with a simple component from Regular Labs called DB Replacer.

Let's find out!

Change the Default Editor to Joomla Content Editor (JCE)

Change the Default Editor to Joomla Content Editor (JCE)

A common complaint for many Joomla users is the editor that comes packaged with Joomla TinyMCE. In general, it’s a great editor, but Joomla Content Editor (JCE) makes it even easier for you to edit/add content with Joomla.

This blog post will show you how to install JCE and set it as the default Editor in Joomla. Also see how to allow different users to use a different editor than the default.

TinyMCE has improved the lives of content editors all over the globe. Joomla Content Editor (JCE) makes it even better.

Let’s get started.

Remove index.php and IDs from URLs in Joomla

Remove index.php and IDs from URLs in Joomla

Sometimes you want to remove the /index.php from after your domain name or the category ID/article ID from your Category Blog or Category List menu items.

This blog post will explain how to do both.

How to Change the Default Date Format in Joomla

How to Change the Default Date Format in Joomla

The default date format in Joomla is based on United Kingdom English. Not everyone wants this date format.

If you’ve ever wanted to change the date format in Joomla from day month year to US date standard of month day, year, then this is the post for you. Let’s get started.

OSTips - Enabling Two Factor Authentication in Joomla

OSTips - Enabling Two Factor Authentication in Joomla

Today we're going to be talking about a very important topic which is two factor authentication inside of Joomla websites.

So we know that over 80% of website breaches come through passwords, but how can we avoid this on our own Joomla website?

Well, we can turn on two-factor authentication. What that means is that we'll have a username, a password, and then a randomly generated code produced from something that is on your person physically (ex: cell phone).

Joomla offers two ways to enable two factor authentication:

Google Authenticator running on a mobile device
Yubikeys that are plugged into a USB port on your Mac or PC

Let's take a look at these options!

2 Reasons to access configuration.php in Joomla

2 Reasons to access configuration.php in Joomla

Two reasons you might need to access configuration.php are:

How to find your Database Credentials
How to set Error Reporting to Maximum

We can help you with that.

How to Disable a Joomla Plugin via phpMyAdmin

How to Disable a Joomla Plugin via phpMyAdmin

It happens. One day you visit your website, and there’s this weird error across the top of the screen throwing off your layout and making your site look horrible.

We can help you with that!

Use Loadposition to Prevent Code Stripping in Joomla

Use Loadposition to Prevent Code Stripping in Joomla

There’s nothing more frustrating than going into an article to make a small change and then when you save it, you find that some code that was in the article has stripped.

Here’s a great way to get around that by using the {loadposition} plugin to prevent code stripping in Joomla.

What we’re going to do is set up a custom HTML module with the code and then load it through the article. That way, people can edit the article with the editor on and not worry about the code stripping.

Let’s get started.

OSTips - Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in Joomla

OSTips - Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in Joomla

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in Joomla has always been a bit of a crapshoot.

Well not anymore! As I just said, it's sometimes really hard to get your seo perfected in your Joomla website.

In this video, I'm going to introduce you to a component called Route 66 that works just like the amazing Yoast plug-in in WordPress.

It really is unbelievable, so let's go!

How to Password Protect Joomla’s Administrator Directory

How to Password Protect Joomla’s Administrator Directory

Every Joomla website has the same URL to get to the backend Control Panel. This means bots can attempt to login to your website easily unless you take precautions to block it.

By adding password protection to the /administrator directory, you can help ward off attacks and hack attempts to your website.

It’s easy to set up. I’ll show you how.

How to Use Joomla Core Page Break Plugin

How to Use Joomla Core Page Break Plugin

If you have a super long page of content, it’s nice to be able to break it up into visually appealing pieces so it can be consumed more easily. Sure, there are lots of third-party extensions that do this but why use them when you can use Joomla core.

Joomla core’s Page Break Plugin breaks up long pages of content with accordions, tabs, or “pages.”

For simple applications, you don’t have to add a third-party extension. Learn how to use Page Break and its limitations.

Using Database Fix after an Update in Joomla 3.x

Using Database Fix after an Update in Joomla 3.x

Sometimes when Joomla is updated, database schemas change. Occasionally, this doesn’t happen properly during the update.

Here’s how to use the database fix functionality to resolve those schemas that need to be updated to match the version running.

OSTips-Quickly Create Joomla Websites With Your Own Distribution

OSTips-Quickly Create Joomla Websites With Your Own Distribution

In this episode I'm going to show you how to build a Joomla distribution so that you can create brand-new websites out on the Internet anytime you need, that are practically ready to go.

So what's a distribution? Well a distribution in Joomla is nothing more than creating a site, adding all of your favorite extensions to it, entering your licensing code and then using Akeeba Backup to create the site out on the internet.

It's not hard to do, but it will save you so much time! Let's go.

Showing Related Data in Fabrik

Showing Related Data in Fabrik

Have you ever wanted to show data on a different table that is related to the data on another table in a Joomla site using Fabrik? For instance, let’s say you have a list of members in a race club and a list of races they have completed. This is a very common one-to-many relationship, and it’s easy to display in Fabrik.

Let’s jump in and show the relationship between our racers to races!

Create Tables & Import CSV Data in Your Joomla Database Using Fabrik

Create Tables & Import CSV Data in Your Joomla Database Using Fabrik

Do you have data supplied to you from a client or outside application that you need to create a table to house and then display back the information in a Joomla! site? Fabrik can make this a very quick and easy process for you using the import feature.

Let’s take a look at how to import and display data from a CSV file.

Want to know more about Joomla 4?

Want to know more about Joomla 4?

Joomla 4 is definitely a much anticipated release, and there have been many people asking about what to expect in features and the upgrade path from Joomla 3. So, who better to get your information from, than the Joomla 4 Production Leadership Team Lead himself, George Wilson! In this video presentation for the JoomlaShack 2019 Online Conference, George goes into details on the new features that will allow you to build even more scalable websites with Joomla in the future.

Continue reading to watch the video.

Visualizing Data Using Fabrik

Visualizing Data Using Fabrik

Fabrik is a rapid application building extension for Joomla, and it's super easy to show your data in lists or details views. But did you know you can show that same data in different ways, more visual ways? Fabrik Visualizations allow you to show data in many different customizable ways, such as Google Maps, Full Calendars, or Fusion Charts. In this video presentation for the JoomlaShack 2019 Online Conference, I take a look at using each one of these to create a cool dashboard in Joomla.

Continue reading to watch the video.

Public, Guest, and Registered Access Levels in Joomla!

Public, Guest, and Registered Access Levels in Joomla!

Understanding how to use the Public, Guest, and Registered access levels in Joomla! 3 sites with a frontend user area gives you much more control over your content and menus. For instance, if you have a login menu item, you really don’t need it once you are logged in, vice versus you don’t need a logout menu item if you aren’t logged in. Or, maybe you are asking people to sign up as a member in a module, you don’t need that same module showing after they have signed in.

Let’s take a look at how to use Guest and Public access levels to do just these type actions.

How to Automatically Add Stripe's Fee Using RSForm!Pro

How to Automatically Add Stripe's Fee Using RSForm!Pro

It's fairly easy to create a simple payment system using RSForm!Pro in Joomla!. When you combine it with Stripe as the payment processor, you get a really great way to collect payments on your website. In this tutorial, I'm going to demonstrate how to automatically add the Stripe payment fee (currently 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction) into the amount that is sent to Stripe and passed on to the consumer.

Using Content Versions in Joomla

Using Content Versions in Joomla

Do you edit a particular article on a regular basis?

Do you ever make mistakes and hit Save and Close too quickly?

If you answered "Yes" to either question, then there is a Joomla feature that you really need to use.

Joomla Template Tools - Viewing Positions and Other Templates

Joomla Template Tools - Viewing Positions and Other Templates

Have you ever been trying to figure out which position was where on your template? Ever wanted to see your Joomla site using a different template without changing the live template?

You can do both with the handy tools built-in to Joomla, read on to learn how.

View your Joomla Site as a Public User while Set Offline

View your Joomla Site as a Public User while Set Offline

Sometimes when building a new site or making changes to an existing site, you want to have the site online, yet in an offline mode. When a Joomla website is set to offline, the site is put behind a login and special rights are needed to login from the frontend. Super users can login to the frontend but have extra things visible like editing buttons and unpublished articles. If you want to see the site for you client or yourself as a public user, you can setup a special group to use for this function.

Keep reading to learn how.

Adjusting Your Joomla! 3.x Session Time for your Users

Adjusting Your Joomla! 3.x Session Time for your Users

Session Lifetime

By default, Joomla has a 15 minute session time for logged in users, meaning if a user goes inactive for more than 15 minutes, they are automatically logged out and need to enter their credentials again. But, sometimes you need longer session times, for instance, when you are developing a site and don’t want to be logging in over and over. Or, maybe you have some very long forms for logged in users to complete and you don’t want their session expiring before they can hit the submit button.

So, let’s take a look at changing the session time in the backend of Joomla.

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